Manor House

Bikes look ok but slums behind are sad

Manor House is an agricultural centre for sustainable farming located just outside Kitale, about twenty minutes away by car. 

We had heard of the centre last year, through a charity in the UK, when we were investigating sustainable farming methods for possible use at Aquinoe if we can acquire extra land.   The idea would be that the produce could help feed the children at the school and at the same time the farming sessions could be used as part of a vocational course to teach some of the pupils skills that they could take back into their communities. 

We had to pass through quite an extensive slum area on the outskirts of Kitale, which was packed with small flimsy houses, market stalls, goats, chickens and lots of rubbish.  Josphat told me that a landslip had occurred during a previous rainy season which had caused much destruction and some deaths.

Sow and ten piglets at Manor House

The road climbed up hills and dropped down to the valleys between, which small streams occupied.  It was easy to see how the water could overflow the mini plains beside the streams in the rainy season but the bridges over the streams had been constructed for the dry season and the capacity for water beneath was correspondingly small.  Josphat explained that the road was rendered impassable in the rainy season and it was easy to imagine the flooding that can occur obliterating the roads.

Sarah with some of the equipment

Nicodemus, at Manor House, gave us a very informative  tour round the property and explained all of the methods used, while showing us the plots used by the students participating in the variety of courses run by the centre. 

The most important principals are:
To nourish the land as well as the crop
To use the space as intensively as possible while using manure and compost
To prepare the land using deep tillage methods.

I hope, in time, these methods will be put into practice at Aquinoe. 

On our return to school I met Sarah, who works in the Special Needs department, and we discussed her work, the pupils and the equipment she uses and needs.  I handed over a few of the items I had brought out for her department. 

This afternoon a mother brought her daughter, Mercy, in to school and Josphat invited me over to observe the assessment.  She has a definite weakness with her lower limbs, although she can move around while holding on to the walls or furniture.  She appears to be very bright and has been attending a special school, although she has been receiving no treatment for her physical difficulties.  She was keen that Mercy should have the opportunity of being treated by the physiotherapist at Aquinoe.